Showbiz comes to the Moss as BBC’s Autumnwatch flies in

Watching: A knot rests on the shoreline at the RSPB nature reserve at Leighton Moss, near Carnforth. The reserve is to be used as the backdrop for the BBC's Autumnwatch programme

Published:08:00Thursday 07 November 2013

Share this article

Lancashire’s Leighton Moss is the new location for this year’s Autumnwatch series.

The RSPB reserve in Silverdale has been hosting presenters Chris Packham, Michaela Strachan and Martin Hughes-Games for four days of live broadcasts, which began on Tuesday, and will conclude on Friday.

Michaela Strachan

The trio have been appearing live from the new location, close to the coast, and relating stories of the wildlife there during autumn.

The current series of the popular BBC2 show is examining how the unpredictable nature of the UK’s weather can dramatically affect our wildlife.

Autumnwatch features weather updates throughout the series giving audiences a weather report for wildlife, covering topics such as how winds in the North Sea affect migrating birds crossing from Scandinavia, and how falling temperatures influence the changing of colours for leaves.

The programme will also showcase the beauty and drama of autumn, exploring nature’s key events and wild spectacles, as well as explaining why this season is such a critical time for all of the UK’s wildlife.

﻿According to the BBC, Autumnwatch is well known for its ability to react to stories as they happen, providing multi-platform, round the clock, streaming wildlife action live on the web and on the BBC Red Button.

And this year it aims to be more interactive than ever, inspiring everyone to share their stories, photos and videos, and get outdoors to enjoy the season for themselves.

Leighton Moss, which is in the Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and on the edge of Morecambe Bay, is right at the heart of this season’s action.

Thousands of migrant waders gather here in the autumn months, otter and kingfisher hunt for fish in the reserve’s reed beds, and rare species such as bittern and bearded tit prepare for winter.

Other highlights set to be featured during the series include footage of the 100,000 starlings roosting on the reserve first gathering in huge numbers and making incredible patterns and shapes in the sky as they pick their spot to spend the night when the sun sets.

Cameras will also focus on the red deer, the largest residents of the reserve, as they rut among the reed beds. The males will go head-to-head for the right to mate with the females, bellowing across the reserve at one another, and locking antlers in battle.

Other scenes will showcase the huge flocks of oystercatcher, knot and turnstone as they gather to feed in the rich Lancastrian mud out on Morecambe Bay.